XI'AN, March 4 (Xinhua) -- Li Junlin renewed China's national record of men's 800m indoor race on Sunday in 1:49.62. He achieved the new one at the Chinese Indoor Athletics National Championships held here on March 3-4, upgrading the former record by 0.01 second.
"I feel better and better recently after receiving good winter training, so I asked myself to try my best in the game, even in the preliminary round. I had predicted that I may broke the record before I came to Xi'an," Li told Xinhua.
Although Li only finished his game in 2:03.27, ranked in the eighth place in the final round, he received the congrats from the referees and rivals. Zuo Rongguangtai who timed 1:54.97 was the winner of the men's 800m competition.
"I felt completely at ease after breaking that record yesterday, and I'd like to save some energies for the upcoming 1,500m final," Li said.
Li failed to enter the final round in men's 800m event at the 2018 Asian Games. He intended to reach the podium in the Asian Athletics Championships which will be held in Doha of Qatar in April, 2019.
Considering that there are few chances for Chinese men's 800m runners to secure a ticket of the 2019 World Athletics Championships, the newly-promoted Chinese national record-holder decided to give more surprises on the continental stage.
On Monday afternoon, Li also took a part in men's 1,500m race and finished in fifth place in 3:58.78. Yang Jiaxiang of Yunnan province clocked 3:46.59 to win the title.
